One or the Other
by The Official Demonator
Summary: My name is Jenny DeFazio. I'm not popular at school but my best friend is. I wanted to be liked and to have a boyfriend of my own, like the preppy girls, but I got far more than I ever wanted. Now it's one or the other. Autobot/OC/Autobot. Love triangle.
1. Chapter 1

**Rated M for strong language. Don't hate yooo.**

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**Thank you!**

**Just something new I'm trying.**

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><p>The locker door slammed and I was instantly jolted out of my thoughts. I snapped my neck as I quickly looked to my right. My eyes met the smiling face of a very attractive boy.. and I, Jennifer DeFazio, was proud to call him my best friend.<p>

He raised a concerned eyebrow and grinned at me. "You okay, dork?"

I rolled my eyes. I _hated_ that nickname. "I prefer my real name, asshole."

He folded his arms and followed me as I walked down the hallway. "Sorry, loser." When I glared back at him, he laughed. "I'm kidding! Jenny, come on!"

Then I stopped abruptly, and he almost ran into me. Spinning around, I glared. "You know I get picked on every damn day with that shit. Now you're gonna contribute to it?"

"Jenn, you know I don't mean it," Alix said to me. I only rolled my eyes and continued to walk away. "I mean, come on," he began, following me once more. "I practically beat the fuck out of Zach for picking on you. You think I'd actually be serious while messing with you?"

"It all hurts the same," I muttered under my breath.

That was when he stopped me and spun me around. His hands were planted firmly on my shoulders and his deep-blue eyes met my chocolate orbs. "I'm not gonna do it again, then, okay? I promise. I'm sorry, Jenny."

It was then that I realized we were standing in the middle of the hallway and everybody who walked by stared at us.. probably wondering what a hot, smart and popular guy was doing touching a moron like me.

Shrugging his hands away, I sighed. "People are staring. Just go to class and I'll see you after."

With a roll of my eyes, I walked to class, starting my hell-hole of a day.

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><p>It was the end of the school day, finally, and I began to walk towards the parking lot, where I usually met Alix so he could drive me home. When I got there, I groaned to myself.. standing next to his car, was not only him, but one of the snobby, preppy girls. Great, I guess he was taking her home, too..<p>

With a puff of annoyed air, I continued to walk towards the car. When the girl, known as Laruen, saw me, her smile had dropped immediately. I mentally laughed to myself; oh, how it must've been _killing_ her deep inside.

"Hey, Jenny, take the back, okay?" Alix told me. We stared at each other for a couple seconds and I coiuld tell he was begging me to just do what he said by the way he looked at me. With an internal groan, I nodded and hopped in the seat behind his. After he got in, and she did, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove off.

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><p>"Thanks for the ride," Lauren smiled at him, flashing white teeth as she opened her door.<p>

Alix nodded, his grin making me want to puke. Gross. "Anytime, Lauren."

When she got out, I got out, too and replaced her seat on the passenger side. Alix waited for her to enter her house before he continued on driving. "Why the fuck do you do that to yourself?" I asked, shaking my head.

He looked over at me, but I refused to make eye contact. "Do what? Lauren's nice."

"Yeah, to _you_ because she thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread," I growled, finally looking over at him. "She's extremely conceited and I _swear_ she's had ass implants-"

"Aw, come on," Alix said, but couldn't help but snort- I assumed it was at my ass implants comment. "You act like you're ugly as sin."

"What? I do not," I frowned, folding my arms. "How?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Can I be completely honest with you, Jenn?"

I shrugged. "Why not? Everybody else is."

He shot me a look and then continued. "_Anyway_," he sighed and for a second I felt upset with myself at how angry he looked. "I don't think Lauren is pretty. Yeah, she's a friend of mine and I'm willing to give her a few rides home to keep out of the heat, but she's a trashy whore. So are a lot of other girls in our school, but you.. you're the only real one I know. You're _not_ ugly. You have that long, wavy hair that most girls would die for, long eyelashes, a pretty face.. you keep yourself in shape and you don't look as orange as an oompa loompa. You know what's up. That's hard to find and I'm glad that I did, you know?"

If I said that his words made me happy and my heart thump in my chest like mad, that would have still been an understatement of what I was actually feeling. "Alix-"

The car came to a halt and I looked out the window.. my house in clear sight. "Well, here we are," he sighed, putting the car in park and leaning back in the seat more comfortably. He looked over at me with a tired smile, his hair ruffled.

I cleared my throat, running my hand over the top of my head nervously before opening the door. Why the hell was I suddenly feeling this way? "Alright. See you later, I guess." Nodding, he watched as I shut the door and walked up to my porch. Fishing around for my key, I found it, unlocked my door and stepped inside.

Taking one more look behind me, i watched as the silver Corvette Centennial drove off.

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><p><strong>Well, I hope I caught some of you off guard. :P<strong>

**Yes, that is Sideswipe! But Jenny doesn't know that yet! Shh! Don't tell. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Holy-freakin' hell! Love the reviews, guys! Thank you all! :)**

**Hope I don't disappoint!**

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><p>Have you ever been so tired, as soon as you crash into bed, you fall asleep instantly? And then have you ever had a dream your phone ringtone was playing over and over again? I wished it was just a dream, but unfortunately, my cell phone was ringing, and it woke me up. I was definitely pissed and there was hell to pay.<p>

Without even looking at who it was, I picked it up and put it to my ear. "Hi?"

"Jennifer, get dressed and wait for me outside," Alix's panicked voice sent shivers down my spine. Why did he sound to scared?

Suddenly very awake, I jolted into a sitting position. "W-why? Alix? Hello?"

"Just listen to me," he said and I swore I heard the squeal of tires in the background. "Get dressed and meet me outside your house in ten minutes."

With a click, he hung up.

Without even hesitating, I bolted out of bed, but I made sure to stay quiet enough so I didn't wake my mom up. She was usually a heavy sleeper, but with my luck, she'd wake up instantly, so I kept it down as much as possible.

After getting dressed quickly and tossing my hair in a bun, I put on my shoes, grabbed my keys and went out the door, locking it behind me. Sure enough, Alix was waiting there for me.. and.. even though it was pitch dark out, the street lights illuminated the paved road and to my horror, Alix's once _beautiful_ Corvette was now dented and scratched almost _everywhere_.

"What the _fuck_ happened?" I nearly screamed as I looked inside the vehicle's interior (it was currently in convertible mode) and was confused instantly when I noticed he wasn't even in the car. I looked around, expecting him to be standing somewhere near me, but he was nowhere to be seen.

_"What are you waiting for?"_ his familiar voice snapped and I stared at the car, my eyes wide. Did.. did the car just _talk_? _"Get in!"_

"Alix? Is this some kind of joke? Where the hell are you? This isn't funny!" I screamed the last part.

_"I'll explain later, just get in or we both die!_"

Swallowing hard, I opened the door and climbed in, slamming it behind me. With a squeal of the tires, the car lurched forward _by itself,_ mind you, and my house disappeared in the distance. I looked over in the driver's seat and I swear my eyes were playing tricks on me, because Alix was sitting _right there_!

"Alix, I swear to _GOD_ you better explain to me what the flying fuck is going on here," I said, a warning tone shrouding my voice. "You dragged me out of my bed at.." I checked the time on my phone, "..at three in the morning, came to my house in this beat up piece of shit and now you're telling me that if I don't come with you, we'll both die?" my voice was higher in pitch at this point. "I think it's time you cut the umbilical cord with the weed, Alix-"

"It's not a joke," he snapped and I'd never seen him this serious in my four years of knowing him. "I'll explain once we get to base. It's not safe enough for me to lose concentration right now, so just stay quiet." He nodded at me. "Go to sleep. The base is almost a full day away from here if we drive without stopping."

My eyes widened. A full day? A base? What kind of base? I was too afraid to ask. I asked a simpler question, instead. "What about gas? We stopping for that?"

He looked at me and we kept eye contact for a few seconds (how the hell he was still able to drive while doing so was _beyond_ me) and then he said, "I don't need gas," before returning his gaze back to the road.

We said nothing more to one another.

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><p>I had just woken up for the second time since we left my house, except this time, Alix was the one waking me up. "Jenny, come on, get up. We're here."<p>

I opened my eyes groggily, not sure if I was dreaming or not, but when I saw the familiar blue eyes in my face, I instantly snapped back into reality and jolted up from my restring position, smacking him directly in the forehead. "_Shit_. Sorry."

"_Ow_?" He groaned, rubbing his forehead a few seconds after the impact.

"I said sorry," I muttered, sitting up the rest of the way. After a second or two, I looked around and my eyes went wide. "Where are we?"

Everywhere, and I mean _everywhere_, were military vehicles, choppers and hangars. People walked around dressed in uniform and I noticed two soldiers heading in our direction; both didn't look pleased. I swallowed hard when they got close enough and began to speak.

"Shit man," one of them said, looking at me while shaking his head. "Sides, why the hell d'you have a human girl with you? You know-"

Did he just call Alix _Sides_? What did that mean? And he referred to me as a human.. well duh! What else am I?

"Epps, shut up," Alix snapped through gritted teeth, interrupting my thoughts. "She doesn't know."

"Know what?" I growled, hopping out of the car. I hated when people talked about me like I wasn't around. "What the _fuck_ don't I know and does anybody want to explain to me why I'm here at this base?"

"Easy on the language, Jenn," Alix whispered to me.

"No, Alix!" I yelled, causing the other soldier to sigh in annoyance. "You dragged me out of bed at three in the damn morning and told me that I was going to _die_ if I didn't come with you and now we're at a military base, of all _fuckin'_ places, and things are just really messed up! So no, I won't be easy on my language!"

"Sideswipe," the other guy said and I saw the name _Lennox_ on his shirt.

"And who the hell is Sideswipe?" I blurted, folding my arms. "His name is Alix. What are we? Three? We need to use codenames still?"

"Can I just tell her, Lennox?" Alix said, ignoring me.

The two guys seemed to hesitate before the one known as Lennox sighed. "If you do," he began, pointing a finger at my best friend, "you have to stand before Optimus and Ironhide, you realize this?"

"I know," Alix nodded.

So did Lennox. "Go on then." He was about to turn away, but he paused. "And you do realize you'll be in charge of keeping her safe, right?"

Alix nodded again. "I know, Will."

"Alright, then," Will nodded and then turned around, walking away with the other soldier.

I turned to face Alix, but he stopped me before I had time to speak. "Listen to me, Jenn," he began quickly. "I know you're probably scared and frustrated and confused, but you have to pay attention to _everything_ I tell you. First of all, Sideswipe isn't a codename; it's my real name. Alix is the codename. Second-"

"Okay, I get that, but why the hell didn't you just tell me that was your real name?" I asked. "I mean, it's not the _weirdest_ name I've ever heard of-"

"Just listen," he snapped and I shut up instantly. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and then opened them before continuing. "The reason they addressed you as a human.. is because I'm _not_."

"A human?" I said. "You're not a human?" I almost laughed at the ridiculousness. "Come on, Alix-"

"Stop calling me that," he interrupted and I stopped myself. I frowned. He was being _really_ serious, which wasn't like him at all. "I'm not kidding. And this," he pointed at himself. "This is fake. This isn't really me. It's called a hologram and it was designed and created by two very smart friends and comrades of mine named Wheeljack and Ratchet."

"Then if that's not you, what the hell is?" I shrugged, deciding if I should just go along with it all. Could I _really_ believe any of this?

"This is," he replied without hesitation, directing a hand to his car; the dented Corvette Centennial convertible. "This is me. My name is Sideswipe and my home is Cybertron, a planet extremely far from here."

Before I could tell myself not to, I snorted... pretty loud, actually, causing him to glare at me. Then I shook it off. In a situation like this, I guess I really only needed one thing in order to believe him; proof. "Prove it," I shrugged like it hardly mattered. I really wasn't feeling in a good mood at all. "I'll believe it when I see it."

He smirked, and that scared me. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

And before I had time to gasp, his entire body just _disappeared_ and the next thing I knew, his car was moving.. and not on its wheels.. but it was actually _breaking apart_ and reconnecting into different shapes; getting taller and much bigger.

It wasn't until a pair of strikingly blue and familiar eyes met mine, did I pass out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**I hope nobody minds that she'll still be calling Sideswipe 'Alix' for a while. It's just what she's used to. :P**

**Thanks again!**

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><p>"Jenny?" A soft voice woke me from my nightmare, and I opened my eyes slowly. There was a bright light in my eyes, but it was quickly replaced by Alix's head. "Jenn-Jenn? Wake up, femme."<p>

"Shit," I groaned, rubbing my head. "I had the _worst_ bad dream. You were some kind of.. GIANT-ass robot," I told him, but when I finally looked at my surroundings, another pair of eyes were staring at me curiously.. and these pair of eyes belonged to, of all things, a HUGE robot! "Jesus!" I yelled loudly, nearly falling off the bed-like thing I was sitting on. "Get it away from me!"

"Jenn, stop! It's alright," Alix placed his hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes, and then I remembered.

"Y-_you're_ one of those things, too!" I cried, shoving him away from me. He looked almost hurt and I instantly felt bad for a split second.

"Sideswipe, she needs to lie back down," the other robot said, "or else I can't get these scans done. Do you understand that, girl?" he glared at me. "Get back on that berth."

"No-" I started.

"Do it," Alix, Sideswipe.. whatever the fuck his name was, finished. "Please, Jenny. I wanna make sure you're okay, and Ratchet is the best doctor I know." He then looked over at the yellow robot. "Even though he's a big asshole sometimes." Ratchet glared daggers at him and Alix, as I knew him as, shrugged. "Okay, _all_ the time."

The medic growled before looking back at me. "Please," he pointed a hand to the thing he called a 'berth', "sit. I will not ask politely again."

Did I _really_ want to piss the big guy off? No. So I did as told, even though my mind desperately told me to try and get the hell out of there. As soon as I sat down, Ratchet walked over to me and ordered me to lay back. I did.

"Why did she pass out like that?" Alix asked. I wasn't used to calling him Sideswipe just yet. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be.

I listened quietly as Ratchet explained. He shrugged, "It was only shock. Natural for humans who are overwhelmed. She is still mentally and physically intact.. well.." he examined me with his eyes. "I'm not sure about the _mental_ part.."

"Hey!" I growled, realizing that they did kinda have a sense of humor. "That's not funny. At all."

Before anybody could chuckle or reply, that Lennox guy walked in the med bay. He didn't look happy and judging by the way he was looking at Alix, he wasn't. "Sides, can I talk to you over here for a second?"

Without answering, Alix just walked over to the soldier. If Lennox was trying to be quiet, he did an awful job. Although I couldn't make out some words, I could hear this much, "High school... destroyed.. unsure of fatalities."

"_What_?" Alix hissed at Lennox.

My heart sank as I remembered what Alix told me the night he picked me up at my house.. that if I didn't go with him, I'd die, too. My blood _boiled_ and before I had time to think about it, I jumped down from the berth and angrily walked over to them. "What happened to my school?"

Confused, Will turned to face me and he looked over at Alix. Alix nodded and Lennox sighed, his face facing mine. "Jennifer, this isn't really the time-"

"What the fuck happened to my school?" I asked again, ignoring him.

"Jenn," Alix tried.

"Stop it," I growled, holding up a hand to him. "I want to know, Alix. You're my best damn friend! Tell me! Stop hiding things from me!"

Alix paused and everybody was silent. Ratchet just looked over, not saying a word. He looked just as concerned as I was. Alix stepped forward, reaching out to me, but I took a step back. He stopped and sighed deeply. "Jenn, there's a lot you need to know before you can fully understand-"

"Then tell me now," I replied through gritted teeth. If they thought I was in the mood for this, they were _way_ wrong.

"We're Autobots," Ratchet's voice began before Alix could reply. Alix glared up at him, but the medic didn't seem to care. "We're from planet Cybertron, but we also have our enemies, who we've been in a civil war with for _many _years, the Decepticons."

I nodded, listening intently without yelling at him. My beef was with Lennox and Alix. "Alright, I gotcha." I nodded, folding my arms.

"My guess is that the Decepticons attacked your school, searching for Sideswipe," he replied grimly, slitting his eyes at Lennox. "Isn't that right, Will?"

"_What_?" I gasped, stepping forward towards Alix and Will. "Is that true?"

Alix sighed, "Jenn-"

"No!" I screamed. "That's not fair! Why save just me? You could have saved more! My friends-"

"I thought you said you didn't _have_ friends," Alix growled, which was totally uncalled for if you ask me. Now wasn't the time to argue about stupid things like that.

I glared back at him, "Asshole, what the hell does it matter? _People are still people_! Innocents are still considered _innocent_!" I got closer to his face, my fist just _threatening_ to knock him out cold. "You left behind lives who have nothing to do with your damn war!"

"Jenn, I didn't know we were leaving anybody behind!" He screamed, getting in _my_ face this time. I flinched back, suddenly scared of his rage. He then spun around to face Will. "If memory serves, you said we were bringing reinforcements at the school? And not to sound like an afthole, but my memory is _pretty damn_ good!"

"We were supposed to," Will replied, looking grim. "Mearing dismissed the orders. She said it would have already been too late for them." Before anybody could butt in, Will added, "But don't think I didn't try to change her mind. I'm just as pissed off about it as you are. You think I wanted this to happen?"

"That's _bullshit_!" Alix growled.

"_What_?" Ratchet interrupted bitterly and everybody fell silent. Just looking at Alix's and Will's faces told me that it wasn't good when Ratchet was pissed. I was too upset to even speak anymore, so I listened. Ratchet dropped whatever he was holding on a nearby table and stood straight. "It is my duty to protect, just as much as it is to serve, innocent lives!"

"Look, Ratch'," Will began. "I wish there was something I could do to send my men out there, and I wish you were a part of it, but I can't just disobey orders-"

"Well that was one order you should have never followed and you _fragging_ know it!" Ratchet bellowed, stepping forward, almost crushing the human and the holoform. I jolted back a couple steps. "It's too late for that!"

"And why the hell do you care so much about me?" I got the courage to ask Alix. He looked at me, confused. "I'm not important to anything here. I'll just get in the way. You could have left without me and _you_ could have lived."

"We _both_ would have died," he snapped.

I laughed bitterly, "Yeah, and _how_ would that have happened?"

"Because I would have gone back in for you!" He hollered, his voice echoing in the large room. Everybody was silent after that, but not for long, because Alix continued to yell. "You think that I show no pity over those who died back at the school, but every _particle_ in my _being_ wanted to do whatever it took to save them. But I couldn't, and you just need to stand up, dust yourself off and understand that what's done is _done,_ and for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Before I could reply, he stormed out of the med bay and Will quietly dismissed himself and I was left alone with Ratchet, who only looked at me with concern in his eyes. He leaned down towards me, his giant metal face inches from mine. "Jennifer-"

"Stop," I held a hand up in his face, shaking my head, the tears starting to sting my eyes. "I can't talk about it right now. I just.. can't." And with that, I fell to the ground, burying my face in my hands. I didn't sob.. I just sat there.

What else was there to do?

I ignored what sounded like Ratchet transforming, but when I felt a soft hand on my back, I looked over and met the soft blue eyes of a man. At first I was confused, but then I realized that this must've been Ratchet's holoform, bending down next to me.

The look he was giving me, as comforting as it seemed, only made me more upset and I pushed my body close to his, sobbing at last in his shirt.

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><p><strong>:3 Poor Jenny. Hey, at least Ratchet's being a good sport to her. :) Sorry if he seems OOC to anybody. I'm trying my best to make this work. Most of my stories are about Ratch', so I think I'm pretty good at keeping him in character, but this is just in case somebody thinks otherwise. I'm tryin'!<strong>

**Plus, our cranky medic has to deal with eighteen-year old hormones.. so.. he's trying to be civil. ^.^ I don't blame him.**

**Alix aka Sideswipe will get over it eventually, the big lugnut.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy!**

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><p>As the second day of my arrival rolled around the corner, I found out a lot about Ratchet. I met other 'Bots who told me how cruel he could be and how violent he was. His 'throwing arm', they called it, was their main fear because it was the arm he used to throw tools like wrenches and other crazy shit at them.<p>

I, on the other hand, did not believe them. Ratchet was nice to me. He took care of me like any medical officer should, he made sure I was comfortable and he always asked how I was doing. It was almost as if I'd known him longer and I think I wish I did.

Either he was being nice to me because he thought I was nice, or he was being nice to me because he felt pity for me. Either way, I appreciated it nonetheless.

"So," he began, interrupting me from my thoughts. "Tell me about your home life."

I shrugged. "Depends on what you wanna know." I sighed, "My dad died when I was little and my mom is currently going to school for nursing."

"She doesn't worry where you are?" Ratchet asked me, looking concerned.

I snorted, waving a hand. "I called sometime yesterday. She thinks I'm spending a few nights at a friend's house. It's all good."

"Oh," he said. After a second of silence, he cleared his throat. "If you don't mind me asking, what.. happened to your, um, father?"

My shoulders slumped. Why was this always so hard to talk about? It happened years ago, Jenny. You have to learn to move on. "My dad worked at construction sites," I began. "One day, my mom got a call saying he'd been in a terrible accident and had died. We weren't sure how bad it actually was until we learned the full news. Um, to put it lightly, a few limbs were brutally ripped off. There was nothing anybody could do. Accidents happen, so I try not to blame anybody for it. He was a good man."

"I-I'm sorry," Ratchet stuttered.

I laughed, to his surprise. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You learn to accept things after a while. I'm still learning."

"Well, you do realize that as an Autobot medic, I am required to learn everything there is to know about humans, so feel free to talk to me and I'm sure I can help," he offered.

I laughed. "Don't worry about it. I don't wanna play _doctor and patient_ my entire stay here. I just wanna be friends, you know?"

He smiled. "I understand, Jennifer."

"And the first step," I pointed a finger at him. "Is to call me Jenn, Jenny or Jenn-Jenn."

He snorted. "Alright, Jenny."

I smiled, "See? Not hard at all."

"Any college plans?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I let out a large puff of air. "Uh, well, considering it doesn't look like I'm finishing high school anytime soon, I suppose not anymore. I did want to go to college for astronomy, but, I dunno."

"Why don't you know?"

I shrugged, "I'm smart, but I don't think I could do all that History-channel type stuff, you know? I'm not a _genius_."

"You learn with experience," Ratchet said to me. "I'll let you in on a little secret.." he leaned closer to me, and I had to catch myself from falling over. I wasn't very used to guys getting within a five-foot radius of me.. as sad as that sounded. "When I started my medical career, I didn't think I had what it took to save a life. I always thought I'd screw up and never be able to live it down, but you know what?"

"What?" I asked almost too quickly. I cleared my throat from embarrassment.

He smirked, "I ignored my fears and did what I _wanted_ to do and, lo and behold, I succeeded.

"Well aren't you special," I joked. "No, but forreal, that's awesome. I just wish I had more confidence."

"You don't have confidence?" Ratchet asked, looking confused.

I sighed, "Let's just say, back at my school, I was the social outcast. Nobody wanted to talk to me, except.." I paused. "Alix. He was there for me and I thought he was the only human who was, besides my mom. But now I'm starting to wonder if he was nice to me just because he _has_ to be, considering you guys are the good guys and protect us."

At that, Ratchet laughed. "Yeah, I would much rather doubt that one, femme." He snorted, "You should meet his brother."

"Alix has a brother?" It was very hard for me to believe. "No way?"

Ratchet nodded, "They're twins. His name is Sunstreaker. He doesn't often come around though, mainly because he doesn't get along with humans, but he will protect them just as much as we would."

"Well, remind me to stay away from him, then," I chuckled. "But yeah, I'm not very well-known around my school.. and if I am, it's only because of Alix."

"I don't see why not," Ratchet scoffed. "From my point of view, you seem to be caring, smart _and_ deep inside, I see your confidence. You just don't seem to know how to show it."

I couldn't help but snort at that, earning a confused look from the docbot. "Please, Ratch'," I shook my head. "If I was confident, I _would_ be showing it."

"You're talking to me, aren't you?" Ratchet asked.

I stuttered, "W-well, _duh_. You're like my doctor. I don't mind talking to you."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Jenn, I am an autonomous robotic being from Cybertron. I know things every single human doctor does not. An example would be.. you're still extremely nervous around me. Reasons are unknown."

"How do you-" I stopped myself. He just explained that. I frowned. "Am not."

At that, he laughed. "Come on, Jenny. I'm Chief Medical Officer. And an intelligent being from outer space with far more abilities than your kind. You are and, to be quite honest, I'd like to know why. If you don't mind."

Should I be honest and prove him wrong? Yeah, why not. "You're not smart enough to figure it out yourself?" I snorted when he remained quiet. "I mean, how else can you expect a girl to _act_ around somebody as attractive-looking as you? You couldn't have picked an ugly holoform?"

WOW. I nearly screamed. I'd _never_ complimented _any_ guy on their appearance. Was it good, though, that it was making me feel more like a woman? A flirt, perhaps? Definitely not used to that..

And now.. he was giving me this look that made me want to be a turtle so I could hide in my shell. I swallowed hard, hoping I didn't offend him in any way.

"Wow," he choked on small laughs and that was when I felt like an idiot. I was about to just tell him I'll see him later and walk out, but he continued. "I.. I've gotta be honest with you, I _am_ flattered. It's not every day that I receive such a compliment, even though this _is_ just a holoform."

I shrugged, my hands getting a bit clammy and shaky. Why was this so hard to do? I smiled faintly. "Sure thing. Although I am.. not really confident, I try to speak the truth either way. You know?" I swallowed, wiping my hands on my jeans.

He nodded, chuckling. "I understand, but," he sighed, looking at his desk. "I have some work to do.. and I don't want you to just sit around here and watch me-"

"I don't mind," I blurted, not even realizing what I said until it was too late. WAY too late. "I mean.. I, uh-"

He smiled, "I understood what you meant. Don't get too embarrassed."

"I'm not embarr- shut up," I glared, finally accepting that he was right.

He laughed out loud. "I got you that time. I told you there's nothing you can hide from me that I don't know."

"I hate you," I sighed, not being able to help myself but smile. "I hope you knew that already."

He snorted. "Not surprising. Everybody I meet usually starts to hate me." I felt bad instantly, and I guessed he understood that. He quickly chuckled, "Nothing you need to worry about. I make them hate me on purpose. The more people dislike me, the less I have to deal with them. It's how I run things."

"Challenge accepted," I beamed.

"Beg pardon?" He looked confused.

"I'm gonna do my best to not hate you," I explained. "That's the challenge." I winked, hoping he knew I was only kidding and that I didn't actually hate him.

"Oh," he snorted. "I get it now, but I already know you don't hate me, so where is the challenge?"

I frowned. "Alright, now I hate you, Mr. I-know-everything."

"I prefer Ratchet," he said.

"Okay.. Hatchet," I randomly chose a word that rhymed.

He glared at me, "What the frag did you just call me?"

I swallowed. Did I offend him? Seriously? "Uh, I dunno, I kinda just picked a random word. Why?"

"Don't call me Hatchet," he growled. "Everybody does and I hate it."

I smirked. Oh, this could be fun. "Sorry, Hatch'."

At first he just glared at me, but then his eyes softened. "You're lucky you're a human, otherwise I'd have a wrench sticking out of your head."

"Whatever, Hatchet."

A low growl escaped his lips. "I hate you."

I only giggled, smiling back at him.

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><p><strong>Yay, friendship! And Jenny is finally acting like a flirty-woman! ;P With Ratchet.. which is kinda scary once you think about it. ;D<strong>

**Thanks for the reviews, guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

So, I really don't care if I'm breaking fanfiction rules, but I just wanted to make this author's note to tell you all that I DID NOT forget about you! I just went through surgery, and I'm in a lot of pain for now. I'll probably be back to posting new chapters later. Right now the pain isn't so bad, so I figured I'd get this note out real quick.

Sorry guys! I'll hope to update all of my stories by the end of the week depending on how things go!

Thanks!

Sam/Demonator


	6. Chapter 6

**OMG! I'm soososo sorry it took me SO long to update! If you are reading any of my other stories, I will DEFINITELY try to update them as soon as I can, too! A LOT of stuff happened recently and im not even gonna go through it all xDD I know you've all been waiting for this, and I hope I didn't lose any of you, and I hope I gain more readers!**

**SORRY! I suck, I know!**

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><p>A few hours had gone by, and I was still hanging out with Ratchet. I hadn't even seen Alix at all.. I was starting to wonder if he even remembered I existed. But, as weird as it sounds, I didn't really care. Ratchet was being a good friend to me, despite the stories I'd heard about him, and he even let me stay in the med bay all day to keep him company.<p>

I'm not going to lie, though, I think Ratchet was the key to my socially-awkwardness. He basically transformed me into a new person within a couple minutes.. without even trying. I felt a bit more confident than I usually did, and I was able to keep a good conversation or two with him; something I hardly used to be able to do.

"Are you impressed with me or something?" Ratchet interrupted my thoughts, and that was when I realized I had been staring at him the entire time.

I laughed it off as best as I could without looking too embarrassed and shrugged my shoulders, "I could be."

He looked like he was about to reply, but the med bay door swung open with a loud groan, and Alix came stomping in, his huge bipedal mode towering over me. "Medic, we're gonna have to switch my appointment around."

"Excuse me?" Ratchet's optics squinted in a glare, and I automatically thought he was going to beat the hell out of Alix. "Sideswipe, I already have everything organized." I could tell Ratchet was trying to hold in his anger, and not yell.

"Well, un-organize it. I don't have time to come in," Alix rolled his optics.

"What the slag makes you so busy all of a sudden?" Ratchet argued back.

To my surprise, Alix looked straight at me and spoke, "I'm taking Jenn home."

"_What_?" Both Ratchet and I nearly yelled at the same time. Glaring, I spoke again. "Are you fucking serious? _Why_?"

"You don't belong here, Jenny," he stared at me. "I made the mistake of dragging you here."

"And what if she does not want to leave?" Ratchet asked, glaring still. "You can't make her."

"I can do whatever I damn-well please!" He yelled back. "She's my responsibility."

"I am _not_ your slave!" I nearly screamed. "You can't just tell me what to do and expect me to do it! You can't just say you're taking me home without hearing my opinion! I don't have to go anywhere with you."

"Yeah, well, this is a military base, and what Optimus and the others say _goes_. They think it's safer for her to go home," Alix wasn't even looking at me anymore. He turned his attention back to Ratchet.

"Well, _please_ allow me to go change his mind," Ratchet growled, standing up and storming past Alix. Alix spun around and glared back at him. "And don't you dare try to stop me.. I know how to take you out."

"Ratchet, you're being naïve," Alix snapped.

"You're taking me back to where those Decepticon weirdos were at? Are you kidding me?" I grabbed his attention again.

He looked down at me just as Ratchet left the med bay. "There is no sign of them anymore. They were after me, not you. You need to go back to your family. It's not safe for you here."

"Alix-"

"My name is Sideswipe," he growled, surprising me. "Not Alix. Stop calling me that."

"_Sideswipe,_" I corrected, gritting my teeth from anger. "I am not going anywhere-"

"No, Prime, I'm not saying your plan to send her back home is fragging insane," came Ratchet's voice as both he and Optimus walked in the med bay, "I'm telling you that _you_ are fragging insane. She is my patient. I have her on file now. She is not going anywhere until _I_ say so."

"She can't stay here unless I know for sure somebody will take full responsibility of her," Optimus sighed, and I could tell he was trying his best not to argue too much.

"Then I'll be her guardian!" Ratchet blurted, and I was instantly confused.

Alix-I mean Sideswipe, jumped forward. "_Frag_ no. You can't just do that to keep her here! I know you, medic. Your schedule is too backed up, you'd forget about her in an instant. Not happening, slagging moron."

"Shut up!" Ratchet growled, shooting the shorter Sideswipe a glare. Then, he returned his glare back to Optimus. "I am requesting a guardianship with the femme. With her permission, that is," he then looked down at me next.

"What.." I glanced at Sideswipe before I continued. "What is a guardianship? What does it mean in your terms?"

Ratchet bent down to my level before he explained. "It means that I would be taking full responsibility for you. And, it would also mean you'd get to stay on base."

"Then yes," I didn't even think about it.

"_No_," came Sideswipe's stern response.

"_Stop it!_" I yelled, squinting my eyes at Sideswipe. "If I want to stay, then I can stay. Right, Optimus?"

There was a loud noise that came from the great leader.. as if gears were whirring inside of him. Then, a puff of air escaped his facial vents that sounded like a sigh, and he nodded. "You did give me permission to allow Ratchet to be your guardian.. I don't see any other complications other than Sideswipe's refusal to let you stay, which.. he has no authority over."

"If anybody deserves to have guardianship over Jenn, it's me," Sideswipe argued back, shoving a finger in his chest. "I'm the one who watched over her throughout high school. She was _my_ responsibility."

"No," I shook my head, to his surprise. "_Everybody_ was your responsibility, Sideswipe. You just pretended to be my best friend. And as far as I know, I'm the only survivor."

"Pretended?" Sideswipe stuttered out, and I instantly regretted my choice of words. "Jenn, I.. I would _never_ have faked my friendship with you just to make you feel better about yourself-"

"Well, I dunno, Sides," I shrugged. "Because since we got here, you've been acting like a dick. You aren't the same person I knew. So, if you want me to believe that you never pretended to be anything, then you'd respect my decision to stay, and you would respect Ratchet's decision to be the one to take care of me. He's doing you a favor."

"_Surprisingly_," Ratchet muttered under his breath loud enough for us all to hear. If I wasn't so frustrated with Sideswipe right now, I probably would have laughed.

There was a long pause before Sideswipe finally replied. With a sigh, and soft optics, he nodded his head slowly. "Alright. Okay, I'll live with it for now." Then, he looked up at Ratchet, but he was still talking to me when he spoke. "But I don't care if he's your guardian now, I'll always protect you as much as I can, too." His optics made contact with my own eyes again. "You _are_ my best friend, and I mean that."

"I know," I smiled faintly. "But I had to get through to you somehow."

"So everything is settled, then?" Optimus interrupted. "Sideswipe?"

"Yeah," Sides nodded his head. "Yeah, we're good."

Prime nodded his head once. "Very well. Ratchet, I trust you on this one. And Sideswipe, you too." Without another word spoken, Prime turned his body around and walked out of the med bay, leaving me and my two _guardians_ alone.

"You know," I began, trying to lighten up the mood more. "You two could be like.. my parents. And you're both married, and I'm like, your child."

"And it's not surprising that I instantly regret this," Ratchet growled, rolling his optics as he walked back over to his desk.

Sideswipe, to my surprise, smirked down at me. "Ratchet's just mad because you called him out on it. He's always wanted to bond to me."

"Have _not_!" Ratchet's voice got really high in pitch, and it made me chuckle. Why, oh _why_, did I find that so cute?

I snorted, "Aw, how adorable."

"The two of you can just go somewhere else," the medic muttered, going through a whole bunch of files on digital screens. They looked like giant iPads.

"I thought I had an appointment?" Sideswipe asked.

Ratchet didn't even bother looking up at all. "You can live without one for once. Just be gone."

"Come on, let's leave the old coot alone," Sideswipe told me, lowering his hand. Without hesitation, I climbed in his palm. "We can go torment Ironhide."

"I'm sure he'd _love_ some target practice," Ratchet sighed and I could see a hint of a smile forming on his face.

I grinned and shook my head. "Bye, Ratch'."

And, without another word, Sideswipe and I left the med bay.


End file.
